In Search of a Haven imagines a world where identification is a path to “liberation” rather than control

Designers Ahmad Hammoud and Mariana I. Solís come from different sides of the world; Ahmad, hails from Cairo, Egypt, while Mariana comes from the border city of Tijuana in Mexico. Despite these different locales, when the pair met while studying for the Beyond Branding master’s at Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering, they realised that they shared a common experience – that their identity and perception of self felt confined by identification documents and restrictive migration systems. Joined together by this shared circumstance, they decided to collaborate on their final thesis project – In Search of a Haven – a speculative investigation into how identification systems pave the way for “liberation, rather than a tool for control”.

While the project was informed by Ahmad and Mariana’s personal experience, it was driven by the incentive to break down wider systems of injustice, as well as being largely informed by other devastating political events occurring today – specifically the genocide in Gaza. “We wanted to use our own tools to re-imagine a system that creates a radically different future-scenario that is more just,” says Ahmad. Such a vast, complicated and personal topic required extensive research, and together the pair explored mapping, cartography, colonisation, history, digital identities and more. To ensure their angle was representative, they completed a survey completed by around 100 people from 26 different countries. But, Mariana adds: “we’re not academic scholars, we’re storytellers. We tried as much as we could to base our hypothesis and concepts on research-based theories, but to also balance it out with speculative concepts and a bit of fantasy.”

This blend of research and fantasy resulted in a future-state, Haven – “governed by a new identification system that identifies people by aspects that are beyond what is assigned to them at birth” – says Ahmad. “This system shifts the parameters from the predefined constraints of current systems, normally tied to space (physical and digital identity), towards more holistic inputs tied to time (memory and prospection).” Here, for Ahmad and Mariana, an individual’s identity lies at the intersection of all of these points, and therefore, “freedom is when the person has complete autonomy over who they are, and to be able to move freely”, says Mariana.

Visually, the project had four or five iterations before Ahmad and Mariana landed on using a scientific occurrence as their main visual inspiration – melanosome. A melanosome is an organelle found in animal cells, which provides the site for synthesis, storage and transportation of melanin, and is essential for animals to be able to adapt their skin colour, camouflage – thus providing a layer of protection in the wild. This process was one that resonated with Ahmad and Mariana. “Our future state empowers individuals to redefine their identities and thrive without traditional constraints, creating a society where everyone has the equal opportunity to ‘be’,” says Ahmad. The organic forms and patterns throughout the publication provide a satisfying contrast against the harsher lines and edges of maps and graphs, helping to elevate the fantasy element of the thesis alongside its more serious, evidence-based facet.

In terms of colour, the monochrome finish was selected for two reasons. First, its relevance to the visual history of protest – the use of photocopy and black-and-white threshold imagery due to the accessibility and affordability – as the pair very much see the project being a protest of their own. And secondly, Ahmad and Mariana found that every colour they considered already had entrenched connotations and associations, ones that might distract from the thesis’ core message.

This monochrome effect also enhances the speculative nature of the project and the potential for interpretation. While the world the pair have devised is undoubtedly a positive one, they wanted to convey that, currently, we ultimately have no clue as to whether the future we really face will be a utopia, or dystopia. While In Search of a Haven is led by fantasy and speculation, it’s not a thesis that Ahmad and Mariana believe to be out of reach. “It’s just a radically different perspective that – we wish – one day might come true,” says Mariana. Ahmad ends: “Even if we’re just ‘graphic designers’ we feel that we have a duty to use our tools to critique, question, re-think and re-imagine what is wrong with the world; and we hope this inspires people to protest and create their own futures through their own crafts. We believe that only by imagining and speculating on the future we create better and more inclusive scenarios.”